Long Beach police to conduct DUI patrols this weekend

The Long Beach Police Department will conduct DUI checkpoints this weekend to stop and arrest alcohol- and drug-impaired motorists, officials announced.

Saturation patrols will take place between 8 p.m. today 1/19 and 4 a.m. Sunday in areas with high frequencies of DUI collisions or arrests.

In California, drunk drivers caused 774 deaths in 2010 because someone failed to designate a sober driver, according to the police department. After falling dramatically for five straight years, figures for 2011 indicate that DUI deaths remained the same as 2010.

Driving under the influence can impact the economy in addition to the pain and suffering of those immediately affected, officials said. Conservatively, a fatality has a $1.4 million impact, an injury $70,000, and a crash that only damages property averages nearly $9,000.

"California's roadways are very much safer than they were before 2006," California Office of Traffic Safety Director Christopher J. Murphy said in a statement. "The Long Beach Police Department will be keeping the pressure on through enforcement and public awareness so that we can continue saving lives and reach the vision we all share - Toward zero deaths, every one counts."

Funding for the local program comes from a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.